The invention relates to a method of steam-treating sanitary systems and/or for disinfecting the pipelines of sanitary systems, particularly the pipelines in whirlpool systems.
The disinfection of the pipelines of whirlpool tubs has in the past been effected, depending on the structural type, either during filling of the tub, in which case, during the filling process, part of the fresh water was reversed to flow out of the tub through the pipe system directly into the drain pipe. By placing shut-off valves at the whirlpool nozzles, it additionally became possible to rinse the pipeline system for a short time under pressure with the aid of the circulating pump, with the water then not being discharged from the pressure side into the tub but into the drain pipe (DE-OS [German Unexamined Published Patent Application] 3,420,714).
In other methods, fresh water mixed with a disinfectant is conducted through the pipe system practically without pressure at the end of the bath immediately after the bath water has been emptied. In this case, however, there exists the drawback, on the one hand, that relatively large quantities of fresh water are required and, on the other hand, the water mixed with the disinfectant also enters the interior of the tub. In this method, a second step is required in which the entire pipe system including the interior of the tub must be carefully rinsed with pure fresh water in order to avoid skin irritation during the next bath (DE-OS 3,722,281).
Finally, it has been attempted to design tightly closable nozzles with which the flow direction can be reversed to flush the pipe system with the aid of the circulating pump under the full pumping pressure so that the mechanical effect of the flowing water is utilized here to prevent the formation of deposits in the pipe system. The problem in this connection is, in particular, that it is not possible for the flowing water to have an influence in the region of the closing mechanisms for the nozzles (German Patent 3,902,117).
It is known from FR 2,603,976.A1 to generate hot steam for household use in a pressure container and to blow the steam out at its intended location. By spraying in a liquid, the temperature is then reduced and the quantity of hot steam to be generated is reduced.